Sustainable Societies for the Future (English)

How can we generate new ideas and actions for a sustainable world? How can art act as stimulant for a more sustainable way of living?

The exhibition project Sustainable Societies for the Future springs from one of the most complex and urgent challenges of our day: how to create safe, inclusive, and sustainable societies. Twenty-four artists and artist groups are contributing works to the exhibition, that in different ways encourage dialogue and engagement with sustainability issues of local and global urgency.

Sustainable Societies for the Future highlights three dimensions of sustainability—the ecological, the social, and the economic perspective. The exhibition aims to demonstrate how these different aspects interact with one another. How do we treat our ecosystems with proper attention and long-sightedness? How can we create a society in which human rights are respected? And how do we satisfy humanity’s fundamental needs, given the earth’s limited resources, without negative consequences for people, plants, animals, or the planet?

The artists in this exhibition are from the Nordic countries and the United States. From photo and video art to performances and installations, the artists create a dialogue reflecting on how art can inspire social engagement, leading to a better common future by creating new ways of seeing, thinking, believing, and acting.

Sustainable Societies for the Future is an extensive collaboration between Malmö Konstmuseum and Expo Chicago in the United States. The exhibition is a part of Art 2030, an international organization that unites art with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainability and its seventeen Global Goals.

The project includes exhibitions held during the year in Malmö and Chicago, the seminar Museums as Catalysts for Change, organized by Malmö Konstuseum, and the parallel seminar Alternate Assembly: Environmental Impact in the Era of Pandemic, organized by EXPO Chicago. In collaboration with MOTTO Books, a publication that documents the project in its entirety will also be published.

The exhibition period for Sustainable Societies for the Future is February 1st until May 23d. The exhibition will also be made available through several digital public events.